Will "mobile" apps work on desktops?

San Diego company launches apps platform for computers

As more people get used to tapping into applications on their smart phones, a San Diego company is trying to bring the mobile apps experience to computers.

SweetLabs, formerly OpenCandy, has introduced a platform for Web developers to write mobile-style apps for desktop computers. Called Pokki, the platform uses standard web page programming languages such as HMTL 5 and JavaScript.

Users can launch the apps from a Pokki task bar on the desktop without having to open Web browsers such as Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, which is how Web-based software is usually accessed today.

“We are all familiar with the growing number of apps available on mobile devices,” said Darrius Thompson, chief executive of SweetLabs. “What we’re doing is bringing that experience to the desktop.”

Pokki is the latest effort by several companies to see if apps have a place beyond mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. SweetLabs’ Pokki service will launch with a handful of apps, including The Wall Street Journal, eBay, Facebook, LivingSocial and Google's Gmail. The company hopes to open an apps store as more apps become available on its platform.

Apps are abbreviated, specific programs. They are not as robust as launching a browser and opening up a Web page or inserting a video game disc in a computer to play a game.

But they often can provide the most commonly used functions of a web site quickly, or offer up a simple game experience in seconds.

The Pokki platform runs on the Windows operating systems and will be available for Apple’s Mac computers in the fourth quarter. The platform handles download and installation, analytics, task bar integration, real time notifications of activity, security and the apps store.

“The desktop is the largest, yet ironically most ignored, technology ecosystem on the planet,” said Thompson. “Pokki combines the connectivity of the Web experience with the elegance and simplicity of the app experience that users love.”

SweetLabs, founded by former DivX executives, already has an ad network platform for full fledged software downloads. It has raised about $8.5 million in venture funding, with Google Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and O’Reilly Alphatech Ventures as investors.

The Pokki platform SDK -- or developer tool kit -- and initial apps can be downloaded at www.pokki.com starting Tuesday.